Fan Fiction
By Brent Spiner
Data has written a book!
Or, to be exact, Brent Spiner, the actor who played the android Data on the TV show Star Trek: The Next Generation, has written “a mem-noir inspired by true events.”
This isn’t really science fiction, but it is set in 1991 and a lot of it takes place on the set of Star Trek: TNG, where Spiner finds himself the subject of unwanted letters from an obsessed stalker-fan who is assuming the identity of Data’s child, Lal.
What follows is like a mix of Fatal Attraction and Robert Altman’s Hollywood-noir The Player. And it’s a lot of fun, zipping along with humour, plot twists, and thrills while reintroducing us to the cast of the show in their off hours: Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, and even Jean-Luc Picard himself, Patrick Stewart. It’s hard not to think about how it would make a great TV movie, but who would you get to play these guys?
Alex on SF 
I’ll have to get a hold of this, Data was my fave character in the series.
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You should like it then. It’s definitely a book for fans, and it’s a good little story.
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Glad to see you back reviewing books.
I watched TNG and enjoyed it but not enough to ever re-watch it or be interested in the people playing the characters. Makes me wonder how much of this book’s hype (well, you’re only person I’ve seen reviewing it, so “hype” is a bit hyperbolic) is based on fans of Data.
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Oh it’s definitely a book that wears its fan base on its sleeve. Or dustjacket. It’s actually a good read though. I was impressed, especially given that I think it’s Spiner’s first book.
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That is good to hear that it is actually good. I know Shatner wrote a whole series of SF books (Tek something or other I believe) and they were HORRIBLE. I read the first chapter or two back in the day and couldn’t stomach any more.
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TekWar! I don’t think Shatner actually wrote them though. He was just credited with “creating” them and they got someone else to crank them out. But they went on to make a comic book and a TV series out of them. Can’t say I ever dipped my toe in any of it. I seem to recall watching an episode of the series, but memory is hazy. Not surprised to hear the books were no good.
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Ahhh, ghost written. That would certainly explain the lack of quality.
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Welllllll . . . to be honest, I doubt Shatner could have done any better.
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Probably not.
But I don’t want hate on the wrong guy. While I’ll gladly excoriate any jackass who writes a bad book, he actually has to have done the bad job himself.
Otherwise, he’s just a vain, pompous blowhard 😀
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